Quote:
Originally Posted by mldavis2
For me, there are two types of books -- those that you want to keep for display in a bookshelf or coffee table, and loan to friends in exchange for their loaners; and those disposable, quick-reads for fun that you never care to read again.
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I agree that books can be divided into these two categories at the broadest level. And at that same level, the former I buy in hardcover at a local bookstore, whereas the latter I buy in ebook form.
Unlike others, I am not a fan of Amazon. I used to be, many years ago, but my opinion evolved as I saw Bezos imitate Steve Jobs's attitudes. I also dislike, very much, Bezos's attitude towards collecting sales tax. He's already doing it on every agency ebook he sells, so it clearly isn't a major business disrupter. But he prefers to have every taxpayer subsidize his business rather than just the ones who buy from him. (By which I mean that the local governments have to make up for the lost revenue so they increase everyone's taxes, which means I who don't buy from Amazon, in addition to paying sales tax on my purchases also now have to pay a portion of the Amazon buyer's taxes.)
Adding even more to my distaste for Bezos is his preference to cut off affiliates rather than collect the sales tax, which hurts small and local businesses, and his stated intent to put people out of work by closing his Texas distribution center rather than collect Texas sales tax.
I find the way Bezos and Jobs do business offensive.